Shire Expands Presence in Ophthalmology

Shire plc has acquired SARcode Bioscience Inc, a privately held biopharmaceutical company in the ophthalmology therapeutic category along with global rights to its phase 3 compound  LIFITEGRAST, which is currently under development for the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Shire anticipates launch of the product in the United States as early as 2016 pending a positive outcome of the phase 3 clinical development program and regulatory approvals. Shire is expecting to evaluate an appropriate regulatory filing strategy for markets outside of the United States. Terms included an upfront payment of $160 million, with SARcode shareholders eligible to receive additional undisclosed payments upon achievement of certain clinical, regulatory, and/or commercial milestones.

In its Q1 financial statement (May 2), Shire’s newly appointed CEO Flemming Ornskov said: “In the first quarter we added to our pipeline with three acquisitions: Lotus Tissue Repair, Premacure and SARcode BioSciences. The last two provide us with the foundation to build a potential new business unit in ophthalmology – a growing market with many unmet patient needs.  We’re reviewing our pipeline to prioritise investment in our innovative, late stage pipeline assets. We also aim to focus our business development on acquiring later stage assets and to grow our sales in Latin America and Asia.

The global ophthalmic pharmaceutical market, was said to be  valued at approximately $13 billion in 2012 with a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 %.